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Maran calls WTO a 'necessary evil'

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran on Wednesday termed the World Trade Organization a 'necessary evil' and said India will oppose moves by developed nations to initiate a fresh round of talks during the ministerial meeting of the global body in Doha, Qatar, next month.

Maran said the WTO had circulated a draft ministerial declaration for consideration by trade ministers of the 142 member nations of WTO at the scheduled five-day meeting in the Qatari capital from November 9.

"But it falls short of our expectations," he told an Economic Editors' Conference in New Delhi.

Maran said India's stand remained unaltered that all implementation issues of the previous rounds of trade talks be addressed first before any fresh agenda is taken up.

He said the DMD for the Doha ministerial had, indeed, incorporated some of India's concerns, including a moratorium of two years in implementing Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement and the procedural aspects of imposing anti-dumping duties.

These provisions, he said, were divided into 41 proposals, comprising 20 that call for a decision of some kind, 12 in the nature of 'best endeavour clauses', and nine others that are to be taken up by subsidiary bodies of WTO.

"What we are insisting is: Implementation issues should become centre-stage," he said, adding that developing countries, which comprise two-thirds of WTO members, were with New Delhi on this proposal.

"What we have noticed is a few countries are fixing the agenda - the US, the European Union and Japan -- because they have the market power. WTO is not rule- oriented, but market-muscle oriented," he said.

"Yet it is a necessary evil," he said, adding that a recent study by Switzerland had revealed that pulling out of the trade body would require a country to sign as many as 2,000 agreements with other nations on a bilateral basis each year.

"Why is China knocking on the doors of WTO for 30 years? Each proposal otherwise has to be approved by the US Senate."

Maran also sought to allay apprehensions that India was being flooded by imports, following the removal of quantitative restrictions. He said a study of 714 items on which QRs were lifted on April 1 last year revealed an overall import growth in such items of only 5.2 per cent over a one-year period.

"Yet, we cannot be complacent. We have a 'war room' in my ministry, which will be taking actions as ever before."

On the issue of foreign direct investment, Maran said there has been no adverse impact on such inflows following the terror attacks in the US.

He said FDI inflows of $3.19 billion between January and August this year were 33 per cent higher than in the corresponding period last year.

"From the trend, I will say that the same pattern will continue. There has been no visible impact yet because of the developments in America," he said.

Maran also used the interaction with some 200 economic journalists from all over the country to announce the setting up of a high-level committee under former commerce secretary P P Prabhu to review the various export promotion policies.

"The high-level committee will operate for the next Five Year Exim Policy, 2002-07, which will be co-terminus with the 10th Five Year Plan.

He said the committee would also suggest short- and long-term plans for increasing exports in the light of the current global economic scenario.

Indo-Asian News Service
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